Saturday, January 17, 2009

I am finishing up Daphne, refining areas all over the piece; the body, limbs and leaves. I am experimenting with different textures for the trunk of the tree.It is slow work finishing up the leaves, I want to have as much movement as possible.

I have spent a lot of time working out areas inside the piece, smoothing out chisel textures, etc.

I will refine the leaves further, but I have to be careful not to get the sculpture too fragile as it will have to be loaded onto a truck when goes to its new home.

Last spring I took a lot of macro photos of flowers. Now that it is winter, the flowers are all gone, but there is still beauty to be found, you just have to look close...

This is a photo of frost - the temperature was about 5 degrees, and I saw pockets of large crystals in the grass.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

It snowed Wednesday and I took a walk by the creek. Here's what I saw...I am standing at the top of the hill next to the barn. The property is bordered by Yellowbank Creek. Yellowbank Wildlife Management Area is on the other side of the creek.

Some berries in the snow. I don't know what the plant is.

The path to the creek, highlighted by the snow.

The path runs next to the creek.An island is part of the property. It is roughly 1/2 acre in size.

The point of the island. It catches alot of the logs that drift down stream.A beaver has chewed down this tree....

A view of the creek between the main property and the island(on the left. The channel of the creek runs on the other side and is very deep. The water here is a little over knee-deep. I've waded over to the island, but not today...

A big storm a few years ago took this tree down...

Raccoon tracks

A wood duck nest box put up by the state. This is on an island that is part of Yellowbank. Deer regularly bed down on these islands in the summer, I've watched them swim back in the evening.